Something I don't Understand about Our Defense...

[ShotgunDawg]

Yes we are young at DT, but we've got 4 4 star SRs at DE that all seem to stink.

Why?

Why can't Rivers, Adams, Spencer, and Jones set the edge on defense and create a pass rush?

What has gone wrong here?

[Cooterpoot]

Well, Adams is a tweeter, Spencer should be a DT, Rivers is playing well but gets no help, Jones has never developed. Personally, I?m not a Deke fan either. He recruits well, but is a marginal coach.

[ShotgunDawg]

Well, Adams is a tweeter, Spencer should be a DT, Rivers is playing well but gets no help, Jones has never developed. Personally, I?m not a Deke fan either. He recruits well, but is a marginal coach.

Considering they are SRs, I blame their lack of development more on Baker than Deke. Some of these guys are RS SRs, so it doesn't seem fair to blame Deke for 8 months of coaching when Baker had them for 3-4 years

[msstate7]

Considering they are SRs, I blame their lack of development more on Baker than Deke. Some of these guys are RS SRs, so it doesn't seem fair to blame Deke for 8 months of coaching when Baker had them for 3-4 years

Rich rod took what you said was the worst oline in the sec, and he has them 2nd in the sec in rush offense (4th in yds/carry) in the same amount of time.

[ShotgunDawg]

Rich rod took what you said was the worst oline in the sec, and he has them 2nd in the sec in rush offense (4th in yds/carry) in the same amount of time.

Rich Rod's offensive scheme is an OL's dream.

Fair point though. I'm just saying that everyone is blaming the young DTs, which is fair, but the lack of SR production at DE is really destroying this defense more than anyone else

[Cooterpoot]

Considering they are SRs, I blame their lack of development more on Baker than Deke. Some of these guys are RS SRs, so it doesn't seem fair to blame Deke for 8 months of coaching when Baker had them for 3-4 years

I wasn’t speaking solely of development. Most of those guys are career back ups that were never 4 stars really. But I’m not a fan of some things going on with our DL group. And it all doesn’t fall on Deke either. Some bad decisions and unwillingness to adjust.

[Cooterpoot]

Rich rod took what you said was the worst oline in the sec, and he has them 2nd in the sec in rush offense (4th in yds/carry) in the same amount of time.

That offense is also vs two of the worst SEC teams and a blowout vs AL.

[msstate7]

That offense is also vs two of the worst SEC teams and a blowout vs AL.

Fair point.

[Irondawg]

I think it's much easier to get an O-line serviceable than to get your DL good. We've seen plenty of teams work around moderate to bad OL and still have some success. It's near impossible to hide a bad DL.

Honestly I think some of those guys were simply over-rated. Rivers is decent but he hasn't made a jump like I'd hoped he would. The other guys might be better ends in a 3-4 b/c they're not speed edge rusher types. Problem is they're also not setting the edge of plugging run holes well. I'm not sure what the issue is and it's probably a combination of thing, but I think a lot of it a top end talent issue as we rarely have guys just making plays. Simmons made plays as a freshman with very little technique b/c he was just insanely talented.

[msugolf]

We've lost a lot of the mental toughness that Dan brought in plus Joe has transitioned into a less physical practice regimen. No south farm, no hitting, etc. Gotta strain man!

[ShotgunDawg]

We've lost a lot of the mental toughness that Dan brought in plus Joe has transitioned into a less physical practice regimen. No south farm, no hitting, etc. Gotta strain man!

Maybe but there are other reasons as well.

- Tutor 10
- Young DTs
- & the 4 star SRs at DE weren't good under Mullen either.

Not saying your wrong, but there are legitimate roster issues that are heavily contributing to our defensive issues.

This defense still likely stinks this year, even if Nick Saban was coaching them

[Mjoelner34]

Last week Spencer had a free shot at Nix in the back and totally whiffed on him. Nix never saw him and had both feet planted on the ground and never moved and we didnt even as much as slap him on the ass as we ran by him.

[TrapGame]

We've lost a lot of the mental toughness that Dan brought in plus Joe has transitioned into a less physical practice regimen. No south farm, no hitting, etc. Gotta strain man!

I agree somewhat but we had teams under Dan that did all of that and still sucked just as bad.

[Cooterpoot]

I agree somewhat but we had teams under Dan that did all of that and still sucked just as bad.

I really can’t think of a single Mullen team that was this bad. 16 was his worst and it was better than this team.

[BeastMan]

They don’t stink but what we’re seeing is how big it is to be dominant at the point of attack. Everyone on the defense is better when you are good at DT. It all starts there. Remember when we lost Cox the drop off? And that was with a 5th rd draft pick in Josh Boyd still manning the middle of the defense. It’s early but I’m not sure there is a Josh Boyd talent in the current group of young DTs. I see some potential to be nice players but I’m not sure there is an NFL draft guy there at the moment.

[Bothrops]

Spencer was a natural DE that got way too heavy.

[Jack Lambert]

There is a reason Saban went after our D Line coach. I guess the new guy isn't getting it done.

[BrunswickDawg]

They don’t stink but what we’re seeing is how big it is to be dominant at the point of attack. Everyone on the defense is better when you are good at DT. It all starts there. Remember when we lost Cox the drop off? And that was with a 5th rd draft pick in Josh Boyd still manning the middle of the defense. It’s early but I’m not sure there is a Josh Boyd talent in the current group of young DTs. I see some potential to be nice players but I’m not sure there is an NFL draft guy there at the moment.

I know this isn't a holistic look - but just glancing at Rushing D since '09 you can see the difference it makes in SEC games. Against the SEC (2 games, small sample) we have given up 185 a game.
Our worst years previously were 2016 (200 a game), 2015 (199), & 2012 (176). Interestingly, 2016 was a terrible year for rushing d in the SEC - we were 7th at 200 ypg. Most years there are only 3-4 teams that give up that much yardage on the ground, many years only 2 teams give up that yardage.

[BrunswickDawg]

There is a reason Saban went after our D Line coach. I guess the new guy isn't getting it done.

Bama is giving up 207 yards a game on the ground in SEC games so far - which is bad even compared to ours.

[Cooterpoot]

Bama is giving up 207 yards a game on the ground in SEC games so far - which is bad even compared to ours.
Big difference in giving up that in games you’re blowing out people in.

[msstate7]

Big difference in giving up that in games you’re blowing out people in.

I agree, but they didn't when blowing out people before this season

[BrunswickDawg]

Big difference in giving up that in games you’re blowing out people in.

Well, except they have been doing that for years and normally are top 3 against the run in SEC play. Going from 95 ypg last year to 207 ypg this year is something to watch for them.
It is likely related to missing personnel - 5 DL and 3 LBs are out. But, if we can't use that excuse, they can't either....

[NCDawg]

In addition to our disappointing play at DE, we haven't been too good at LB either. I have seen only one of our LB's that can shed blockers and get to the ball carrier. It seems as if our other LB can't get off the block and the RB will run right by him. Apparently our other LB's haven't progressed very much since they very seldom play.

[Bothrops]

We'll see what the defensive effort looks like Saturday when we are supposed to be playing up.